Martha Argerich is an Argentine classical concert pianist. She is widely considered to be one of the greatest pianists of all time. Born and raised in Buenos Aires to Jewish-Spanish parents, Argerich gave her debut concert at eight before receiving further piano training in Europe. At an early age, she won several competitions, including the VII International Chopin Piano Competition, and has since recorded numerous albums and performed with leading orchestras worldwide.
Garrick Olof Ohlsson is an American classical pianist. He is the only American to have won first prize in the International Chopin Piano Competition, at the VIII competition in 1970. He also won first prize at the Busoni Competition in Italy and the Montreal Piano Competition in Canada. He was awarded the Avery Fisher Prize in 1994 and received the 1998 University Musical Society Distinguished Artist Award in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Ohlsson has also been nominated for three Grammy Awards, winning one in 2008.
Jerome Rose is an American pianist and educator.
Stanislav Ioudenitch is an Uzbekistani-born American pianist, known for winning the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Gold Medal at the Eleventh Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2001, jointly with Olga Kern, as well as the Steven De Groote Memorial Award for Best Performance of Chamber Music. He has also won top prizes at the Busoni, Kapell, and Maria Callas Competitions, as well as at the 1998 Palm Beach Invitational and the 2000 New Orleans International. His win at the Van Cliburn Competition led to a recital debut at the Aspen Music Festival and a European tour, highlighted by appearances at summer festivals in France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom.
The Leeds International Piano Competition, informally known as The Leeds and formerly the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition, takes place every three years in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1961 by Marion, Countess of Harewood, Dame Fanny Waterman, and Roslyn Lyons, with the first competition being held in 1963. Waterman was the chair and artistic director up to the 2015 competition when Paul Lewis and Adam Gatehouse became Co-Artistic Directors. The first round of the competition takes place internationally and in 2021 went 'virtual' when 63 pianists were recorded in 17 international locations and the Jury deliberated online, in order to circumvent the various impacts of Covid. The 2nd round, semi-finals and finals take place in the Great Hall of the University of Leeds and in Leeds Town Hall and in 2018 & 2021 were streamed to a large global audience through medici.tv, achieving over 4.7 million views and listens through multiple channels and platforms, including the BBC, Amadeus.tv (China), Classic FM and Mezzo.tv.
Elza Kolodin is a pianist from Poland. She studied in Kraków, Warsaw and Paris.
Martina Filjak is a Croatian concert pianist.
Anna Kravtchenko is an Italian classical pianist. She won the Busoni competition in 1992 and has been a piano teacher at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano since 2013.
Catherine Vickers is a Canadian pianist.
Maurizio Baglini, is an Italian pianist.
Ruriko Kikuchi is a Japanese pianist.
Jong Hwa Park (Korean: 박종화) is a South Korean pianist. He was prized at the 1995 Queen Elisabeth Competition (5th) and the 1996 Concorso Busoni (4th) before being awarded the 1998 Paloma O'Shea Santander International Piano Competition's 2nd prize.
Grace Fong, D.M.A., is the American Director of Keyboard Studies at Chapman University Conservatory of Music and has an active solo and chamber music career. She also performs as part of the Selvaggi Trio.
Nareh Arghamanyan is an Armenian pianist. She is best known for winning the 2008 Montreal International Musical Competition.
Yoonjung "Yoonie" Han is a South Korean-born American classical pianist.
The Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition is a music competition for young pianists that takes place in Bolzano, Italy. It was founded in 1949 by Cesare Nordio in memory of the pianist and composer Ferruccio Busoni.
Yuki Ito is a Japanese classical cellist and conductor. He is particularly noted for his interpretations of Sergei Rachmaninoff's works, in particular the Cello Sonata. His management agency is Japan Arts Corporation.
Sean Botkin is an American pianist and music professor.
Mariangela Vacatello is an Italian classical concert pianist from Naples.
Jiyeong Mun is a South Korean classical pianist. She drew international attention when she won the Geneva International Competition in Switzerland in 2014 and then the Busoni International Competition in 2015 consecutively.
